


Lab Cat

by MoonPotatoe



Series: B'nuka Pain Because I am Evil [2]
Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: Aftermath of Torture, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst with a Happy Ending, Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood, Heavy Angst, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Male Warrior of Light (Final Fantasy XIV), Medical Torture, Miqo'te Warrior of Light (Final Fantasy XIV), Psychological Torture, Torture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-10
Updated: 2020-06-16
Packaged: 2021-03-04 01:40:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,961
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24635479
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MoonPotatoe/pseuds/MoonPotatoe
Summary: It continued on like this for weeks. The aether draining almost to the brink of death, copying the layout of his soul onto poor, innocent victims of these inhumane experiments. It felt like its own kind of hell.
Series: B'nuka Pain Because I am Evil [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1781224
Kudos: 4





	1. Hurt

**Author's Note:**

> A canon divergence of the Stormblood Story. Basicly, what would happen if Kirle wasn't captured bt the Garleans but the Warrior of Light. I have three WoLs in my canon, and during Stormblood two of them went to Othard while one stayed in Eorzea. The one who stayed just so happened to be by cat boy B'nuka, who is also the one who I dump all the angst on, so obviusly I had to hurt my son
> 
> They ars going to be two parts to this, one being all the pain and hurt and the other being his rescue and recovery.

When he awoke, everything was sore. His head, his chest, everywhere on his body hurt. The pain was almost enough to drive him back into unconsciousness, almost. A little voice in his mind told him he needs to wake up, despite the soreness. So he did. B'nuka sat up, clutching his head where he thinks a head injury is. After he is out of his dozed state, he begins to see now why his body is all sore. He had cuts and bruises all over his body, some old and some new. He looked like he had fought a terrible beast and escaped with only his life. After noticing his beaten up body, he then realised where he was. A prison cell. The room was dark, no windows at all, B'nuka could only just see his body, but beyond that the room was pitch black. He tried to get up and move towards something, maybe a door, but he couldn't move more than a few feet. Why? Because he was chained up. He was chained up all over, his arms, his legs, even his neck. B'nuka examined the chains. They were strong, strong enough to bind a voidsent. The chain on his neck also connected to a muzzle over his mouth, and the muzzle seems to prevent him from speaking in some way. Why would someone chain him up like this, like a wild beast that could tear a city apart? He couldn't remember how he ended up like this, all chained up and beaten almost to death, wearing nothing but his undergarments.

It wasn't long before B'nuka heard footsteps. They were getting louder, approaching his cell. He soon heard keys rattling, and his door being unlocked. The door soon opened, letting a small bit of light into the dark cell. Three figures entered the room; two of them were dressed in heavy armour, one of the soldiers had a remote device. The central figure was bigger than the two soldiers, he was also dressed in heavy armour, with a weapon storage system on him. He had his helmet off, so B'nuka could see every detail of the figure's face. His straight, long golden hair, pale eyes, a white spot on his forehead, and his face was expressionless, as if he was bored. That is, until he laid his eyes on B'nuka. The figure's expression changed immediately, from bored to a maniacal excitement. It was only then that B'nuka realised who it was staring down at him like a hunter who has caught the strongest beast in all the land. He had heard horror stories from people about this stone cold hunter who seeks out only the strongest of the strong. Zenos Yae Galvis, viceroy of Ala Mhigo and Doma, crown prince of Garlemald. B'nuka glared at the viceroy, he remembers him. He remembered how the Garleans attacked Rhalgar's Reach and slew most of the Resistance in moments. He remembered how Zenos struck him, Rea and Luna down in a single blow. Zenos aproched B'nuka, kneeling down to inspect him.

"Yes. Yes! This one will do." Do for what!? B'nuka lept at the viceroy to attack him, it's a good thing he trained in bare fisted combat. However, he didn't manage to strike him, as he was immobilized by an electric shock. It wasn't a harmless shock like from a taser, this shock hurt and burned as if he was just struck by one of Ramuh's judgement bolts. The shock sent B'nuka to the ground, unable to move. He saw the device one of the armed soldiers had, it had a blinking LED. An LED was also blinking on his muzzle. Seems like the muzzle is not only a chain, but a shock collar. 

"Know your place, savage! Unless you want another electric shock!" The soldier with the device yelled, before pressing a button on said device. B'nuka felt another electric shock, this one hurt more than the last, the guard seemed to have upped the voltage of the shock. He then began to feel as if he was falling back into unconsciousness, after being electrocuted one more time. Before everything went black, he heard some voices. 

"Take it to the testing chamber. We need to see if it is compatible." 

~*~*~*~*~*~

_ Resonant Compatibility Test Complete… _

_ Compatibility: 100%... ...Optimal… _

_ Commencing Aether Sample Extraction… _

The extraction of his aether woke B'nuka up. He was screaming in agony as the various needles and pumps sucked out his aether. He couldn't move at all, he was bound on what seemed to be some sort of operating table. He struggled to get free if his restraints before he is drained, but that only resulted in an electric shock. He spies a container connected to the machines draining his aether, it was filling up with a clear, neon green liquid. Is that what aether looked like? It was a scary thought to think that was what made everything up, his body, soul and mind. He began to fall back into unconsciousness, he felt drained and empty. He just wanted it all to be over already, let the cold, dark embrace of sleep take him. But not even unconsciousness would take him, despite looking unconscious, he was very much awake thanks to the Echo. 

_ Aether Extraction Complete…  _

_ Warning! Test Subject Aether Levels Low… _

_ Please Replenish Aether… _

"Do you think we took too much out of it boss?"

B'nuka heard two voices talk. They seemed to be the ones who had just drained him of almost all his aether.

"It still has enough aether to live. You remember what the viceroy said. Get as much out of it as possible so we have a better chance at success when it comes to preparing the Resonant!" The second voice let out a chuckle. They seemed to be enjoying this too much. "Besides. Have you seen an individual such as this! It is perfect! Besides, we're still not done with it yet. We still need to map out it's soul, then take some DNA samples." The voice sounded insane, as if they were looking forward to seeing him suffer. He didn't hear the rest of the conversation, as unconsciousness finally took him.

~*~*~*~*~*~

It continued on like this for weeks. The aether draining almost to the brink of death, copying the layout of his soul onto poor, innocent victims of these inhumane experiments. It felt like its own kind of hell. 

The afterwards of the experiments were just as worse. After having his soul copied on a poor victim, he would be dragged back to his cold, dark cell. He'd be bound by all his limbs, unable to move at all. As a taunt, he would be provided food placed just out of reach, and then it's taken away after a bell. He could barely sleep, his gnawing hunger and the cold, wet floor of his cell denying him the peace of unconsciousness. The only moments of unconsciousness B'nuka gets is during the aether draining and soul copying, but thanks to the Echo he is still aware of what's going on around him. 

When he wasn't being experimented on, he was being what the Garleans call "Savage Training." Only Garlean prisoners were given this training regimine, and after B'nuka experinced it, he learned it was more like a form of torture to teach the savages who is in charge. Sometimes he would be beaten to a pulp by high ranking generals, not being able to fight back. If you fight back, electric shock. Sometimes he would be thrown into a room filled with many monstrous experiments for a bell, sometimes two. If he was still alive by the time he was collected, electric shock. Sometimes a guard would come get him and give him to one of the high ranking generals, and they would make him do...explicit actions. If he didn't comply, electric shock, as well as making sure he was sore and bleeding by the end.

In the end, he stopped counting the days until he might be free of this hell. He couldn't remember what the warmth of the sun felt like. He couldn't remember the last time he ate or smiled or talked. He couldn't remember feeling anything other than electric shocks, being kicked or…the slimey touch of his captors. He couldn't remember the last time someone called him by his name, after being called "savage" so many times and being referred to as an "it." 

He had lost hope…

He was going to die here…

...And then, the attack at Castrum Abanina happened.


	2. Recovery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When B'nuka awoke, he felt like crap. His head was pounding and his body ached. He just wanted to close his eyes and die. But he then noticed he was lying on a soft surface, and warm lights surrounded his view. In an instant he sat up and took a look around this unfamiliar setting.

When B'nuka awoke that day, he wasn't greeted by the usual electric shocks or beatings, instead the guard had dumped something in front of him. Clothes. Armor. Why?

"Get up! The savages are coming and due to the loss of most of our units in the attack at Catellium Velodyna we're being forced to use prisoners to fend them of!" So, they were just going to send him to his death. Great idea, send the most valuable prisoner to fight the Resistance. But something was on the Miqo'te's mind. The Resistance was coming. That means they were pushing back the Empire. Luna and Rea were back from Doma. They were coming for him! Freedom will be his at long last! 

B'nuka was stuck in his thought for so long he didn't realise the guard was giving him orders. He was put on the ground with an electric shock, he's used to them by now but they are still enough to put him on the ground. The guard then stood on his head, a common thing they do when beating up the prisoners. "Your orders are simple, savage! There is a high chance the Eikon Slayers will be aiding the Resistance. You are to find them and detain them. Fail, and tonight will not be pleasant for you." Obvious to the Miqo'te's clear confusion, the guard begins to explain what he means by "tonight."

"You are very lucky. The viceroy himself would like to personally see you tonight. If you succeed in detaining the Eikon Slayers, the evening will be a pleasant one. Fail, well I'm not so sure you'll return in one piece." The guard took his foot off B'nuka's head, before kicking him in the neck for pleasure. All the more reason for him to get out of here. He had felt what it was like to personally see someone, it was not very pleasant. They would often do questionable acts in him that should be illegal, but they got away with it because he was nothing but a prisoner. An experiment they could do whatever they wanted to him, even unspeakable acts such as that. And now the viceroy wants a piece of him. B'nuka has seen how he fights, it is ruthless! He didn't want to imagine what would happen if the viceroy could do what he wanted to his body! The mere thought made B'nuka shiver.

B'nuka was kicked one more time, this time in the gut. He began to fall into unconsciousness, but before he did, he was injected with some sort of drug. Before he could process the thought, everything went black, but thanks to the Echo, he could still sense what was going on around him…

~*~*~*~*~*~

The fighting in Castrum Abania was rough. The Garleans were sending out all of their unfinished experiments and prisoners in a desperate attempt to stave off the Resistance. But it was nothing Luna and B'reaza could handle. The Lalafell and Miqo'te duo had just returned from their trip to Doma after aiding the Doman Resistance Front in taking back their home. After they returned, they got the news that B'nuka had been captured by the Garlreans when he was aiding in transporting the wounded from Rhalgar's Reach to Gridania. With Thancred's help, he was able to locate B'nuka in Castrum Abania, and so while Lyse, Alphinaud and Alisiae are disabling the castrum's giant cannon, Luna and B'reaza are searching for their friend and brother.

The two of them entered an empty room outside the castrum, and there stood a figure. He was wearing robotic armour, and had a muzzle mask over his mouth, making him unable to talk. His hair was long and messy, like it hadn't been washed at all, same with his tail. He turned around towards Luna and B'reaza and the two of them cupped their mouths in horror as to who was standing before them. Miqo'te markings under his violet eyes, a scar over his right and faint freckles dotting his cheeks. B'nuka.

B'nuka rushed forward to strike Luna with one of his armoured fists, but his attack was deflected by B'reaza. She took a closer look at her twin, and noticed that his pupils looked like ones belonging to a Keeper. "Drugs, huh?" B'reaza concluded her brother was under the effect of a battle stimulating drug, the only way the Garleans were able to make him fight his closest comrades and sister both was to drug him. The ninja knocked the monk away with a kick that would normally knock him out, but he rose from the floor as if he was under a trance and continued to attack. The battle was getting fierce. Luna and B'reaza were beginning to falter while the drugged B'nuka had enough stamina to fight a dragon solo. The Lalafell and the Miqo'te nodded in unison as they still had one last trick up their sleeves. Using a spell she had learned from Papalymo, Luna gave B'reaza a power boost enabling her to strike with the combined might and mana of the two of them. B'reaza didn't want to strike her brother with this, but it was a last resort. B'nuka once again dashed to strike B'reaza, and she struck him back with Luna's boost, overpowering the Miqo'te and sending him flying to the ground.

The attack took a lot out of B'reaza, and Luna had used all the mana to boost her friend's attack. The girls were exhausted. B'nuka rose again, Luna and B'reaza got into battle stances despite how tired they were. But B'nuka didn't strike, he just limped towards the girls reaching out to them. He was saying something, but it was hard to understand with the muzzle covering his mouth. "...ea… una… Ple..sss… el…" He then collapsed in front of the girls. The Miqo'te rushed towards her brother, and using her lockpicking unlocked the muzzle and took it off his face. He had marks where the muzzle was pressing against his skin, it seemed he wore it a lot, or the Garleans never bothered to take it off. Luna approached B'reaza, who is now holding her brother's unconscious body. "He's alive. Barely. Luna, help Lyse and the others. I'm going to get Nuka outta this shit hole." Luna left the room as B'reaza requested. When she could confirm that the Lalafell was out of hearing range, B'reaza wept over her brother. She was happy to have him back, upset over how beaten and broken he looked compared to when she last saw him before she and Luna left for Doma, and angry at the Garleans for taking her little brother and hurting him like this. "It's okay now Nuka… Your sister is here!"

~*~*~*~*~*~

When B'nuka awoke, he felt like crap. His head was pounding and his body ached. He just wanted to close his eyes and die. But he then noticed he was lying on a soft surface, and warm lights surrounded his view. In an instant he sat up and took a look around this unfamiliar setting. There were multiple empty beds and medical supplies lying on the desks. A recovery room. He grasped his head and groaned, it felt like a woodpecker was pecking his skull from the inside. He then noticed that something wasn't on him. He examined his neck to find no chain. He moved his hands up to his lower face, no muzzle. He gasped and wanted to scream with joy, but he didn't as he had no idea where he was. 

"Ah! You're finally awake." 

B'nuka turned towards the voice, it was a nurse. Hells Guard woman. She sat down next to B'nuka, her kind face and soft sounding voice easing his tensiveness. "It's alright. You can speak. You're safe now." B'nuka was hesitant to speak, he had no idea if the nurse was telling the truth or not. What if she was lying, trying to get him to speak so she can cut off his tongue. He was shaking at the thought of it, but then the nurse gently placed her hand on his back. B'nuka turned to look at her, her face was simply saying "It's alright." With hesitation, B'nuka got some words out of his mouth, it was hard since he couldn't remember the last time he properly spoke.

"W-Where...am I…?" B'nuka barely recognised his voice, it sounded dry and horse. But the nurse seemed to understand what he just said, and answered his question with confidence. 

"You're in Rhalgar's Reach, son. You were brought here after you were found by the Warriors of Light in Castrum Abania. You were at death's door when you were brought in; severely malnourished, wounds all over your body, and well...other stuff I do not wish to mention." 

It took a moment for everything to come together in B'nuka's mind. He was in Rhalgar's Reach. Luna and Rea must have brought him here after he was forced to fight them. He was free from that awful, awful facility where all he was was a tool, an animal that the Garleans could do whatever they wanted with. He couldn't help but cry, tears of joy and pain both dripped from his eyes onto the white sheets covering him. 

~*~*~*~*~*~

Once news had gotten out to the Scions that he had woken up, B'nuka was swarmed by visitors. Everyone was so happy to see him alive and recovering well, slowly but surely. He heard from Lyse that he had slept through the liberation of Ala Mhigo, as well as an incident with the Qualyana. Alphinaud said that the Butcher herself aided in the fight against the Ananta's god, and it was a good thing to or everyone except Luna, B'reaza and Arenvald would be tempered. He was also told about Raubahn being dismissed from the Immortal Flames to aid in Ala Mhigo's rebuilding. B'nuka had missed a lot, and was slightly jealous of all the adventures Luna and B'reaza had. He wished he could've been a part of it… But fate had sinister plans in mind for him that time. He wanted nothing more to forget about the whole Castrum Ababia stuff, but the memories of it all were still there, taunting him.

That night, B'nuka had a nightmare. It was from one of the nights he was asked to see a high ranking general. Except they were five of them. Surrounding him. Binding him. Laughing at him. He couldn't move, he couldn't scream for help, he could only feel pain in his insides and only that. He was being shook around like a ragdoll, being shouted at by the imperials.

" **Wake up! Wake up! WAKE UP!!!"**

B'nuka gasped as he opened his eyes, and found himself back in his bed in Rhalgar's Reach. Standing over him, with worry in her eyes, was his sister, B'reaza. 

"Rea…?" 

"Nuka! Are you alright!?" I came to visit you and when I arrived you were gripping your sheets and screaming for help!" 

B'nuka gripped his head and moaned. "Just a bad dream…" He mumbled

"It's clearly not." B'reaza sat down next to him on the bed. She placed her hand on her brother's shaking hand, trying to calm him down from whatever is haunting him. "What happened in Castrum Abania? What did the imperials do to you? Tell me everything Nuka, I promise I won't tell anyone, not even Luna or Pops." B'nuka looked at his sister with water in his eyes, violet staring down violet. He looked down to his hands, gripping the white sheets. 

"It… It was horrible…" His voice was trembling as he spoke. He didn't want to relive all those memories, why is he telling his twin this!?

"They treated me like an animal… I was always chained up by my limbs and neck, taunted with food I couldn't eat. I was constantly tortured by harsh electric shocks for anything and everything. Even when I breathed I was at risk of being electrocuted into unconsciousness." B'nuka wrapped his arms around himself, hugging himself as memories of the experiments came back. "I was constantly being experimented on… My aether was being drained to a dangerous level, and was constantly being strained from all the experiments. I looked unconscious to the scientists, but thanks to the Echo I still had some awareness as to what was going on." B'nuka then began to shake with fear. Memories he wanted nothing more to forget were emerging and overwriting all his thoughts. He just kept talking.

"Whenever I wasn't in my cell or being experimented on, I was getting beaten almost to death. I was punched, kicked, choked, thrown. I'm surprised I wasn't killed. The imperials just laughed at my pain, thought it was nothing but a fun game! And then they were...the nights…" B'nuka's voice trembled, fear consumed the light in his eyes. He just kept talking. "I was usually taken to a room with nothing but a bed. An imperial of high status was always waiting for me in there, sometimes a big group of them… They always pinned me down on the bed or the floor or sometimes even the walls, and they would always break me until I passed out from the pain. No matter what I did, be it screaming for help or trying to kick free from them, they would always make it hurt more for me…" 

B'nuka covered his ears and began to cry. Reliving all those memories was torture in it's own right. He just wanted to block out all the noises and fall into the endless abys. He was pulled back to reality from a hug from his twin. She was crying too, but instead of fear filled eyes like her brother, B'reaza's eyes were filled with rage.

"I had no idea you went through so much. I'm sorry for prying. No one should be made to relive such awful memories, especially memories that bring you physical pain!" B'reaza could tell her brother was hurting. A twin thing. "But I swear! If I see any imperial connected to Zenos and his legion, I won't hesitate to rip them to shreds for what they have done to you!" The Miqo'te twins embraced each other and wept on each other's shoulders. B'reaza isn't going to let B'nuka heal through his trauma alone, she's going to be with her brother every step of the way. B'nuka isn't going to let his trauma hold him back. He knows the memories won't go away and will haunt him for the rest of his life, but he needs to move on in life and follow the light. It's a good thing Rea has vowed to stay by his side to help him through his recovery.

~*~*~*~*~*~

The next morning, Luna and Lyse go to visit B'nuka to see how he is doing, only to find the Miqo'te twins asleep on the bed, hugging each other with some tear stains on the pillow. 

"Looks like B'reaza and B'nuka had a little heart-to-heart." The monk crossed her arms and smiled. Luna smiled as well, the sight of her friends finally reunited bringing a tear to the Dunesfolk's eyes. 

"Good to have you back, Nuka."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you enjoy seeing my son hurt and recover? DiD yOu EnJoY tHE pAiN!?
> 
> Also, I can't write good battle scenes


End file.
